Description
This simple lavash recipe yields a full-flavor cracker that pairs well with cheese plates, pates and rillettes. It's versatile in the sense that the seeds can be mixed and matched as desired, with my favorites being a mixture of sesame, poppy and sunflower seeds. Use this like you would any other cracker, but you can take pride in the fact that it's home made. Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in a cool place (but not refrigerated), these crackers will last for 1-2 weeks before going stale.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast and honey in warm water.
- Stir in flour, salt, seeds and canola oil until a loose dough is formed.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before mixing. This resting period will allow for the gluten to fully hydrate before kneading.
- After resting period (technically called an "autolyse"), knead dough by hand for 8-10 minutes or by machine with dough hook attachment for 4 minutes. The dough will be stiff and become somewhat smooth. It is not necessary for the dough to pass the window pane test, (meaning you are able to stretch a thin membrane with a small piece of dough), simply knead long enough for the dough to become smooth.
- Place dough in an appropriate sized container, cover with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out and proof at room temperature for about 2 hours. Alternatively, you can retard in your refrigerator for up to 2 days, removing the dough from the fridge 1-2 hours before baking.
- Divide dough into half (if making a full batch), roll as thinly as possible, and place on a half sheet tray.
- Poke the surface of the dough liberally with a fork to keep the it from ballooning up during the baking process, and bake at 375°F/190°C for 8-10 minutes in a convection oven, 400°F/204°C for 20 minutes in a conventional oven, or until the crackers are crispy and golden brown.
- Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before breaking apart and consuming.
Notes
I prefer the rustic shape of breaking these large crackers apart by hand. There's something appealing to me about the randomness of the breaks and the jagged edges. You can however cut the dough into circles or squares before baking to achieve your desired shape.
Further Information
- SCS 18| Four Pillars of Bread - Audio
- SCS 19| Twelve Steps of Bread - Audio
- SCS 20| Bread Classifications - Audio
- Stella's Bread Baking Video Index
- Duck Pate Video Recipe: These cracker's go great with duck pate.
This recipe was adapted from Peter Reinhart's book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice.
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There are 7 Comments
Seeded Lavash
Wonderful recipe. This cracker will crack all the recipes here. The cheese plates give it a very delicious taste and we can enjoy this recipe at least for 2 to 3 days but for me it would be end in a whole day.
@ Labs, I would raise the
@ Labs,
I would raise the hydration rate to about 55-60% and add 5-10% fat (probably olive oil). The cooking time will should take closer to 30-45 minutes (can't be sure since I haven't tested this). What you're going for here is a super thin focacia with lower hydration so it's more cohesive.
Let me know how it turns out.
Questions on Hearthbaking and Whole Wheat Version
Hi Chef Jacob,
Just wondering 2 things:
-Is baking this on a stone too intense for this thin dough? I know it would bake a lot faster. I have one of those fibrament-D slabs.
-If I substituted say 30% of the AP flour with whole wheat, do you recommend increasing hydration at all? Or, at what point should I start thinking about more water and/or oil if I want a whole wheat version?
Thanks much,
Mark
Hey Marco, I've never done
Hey Marco,
I've never done this on a stone, but my guess is that it would transfer the heat too quickly. It could most definitely be done, but you would have to play around with the time and temp a little bit. With that said, the stone's main purpose in baking is to quickly transfer heat for better oven spring and crust formation. However, with this lavash, oven spring isn't a big factor, and the time/temp given in the recipe yields a crisp, brown cracker, so I'm not sure what benefit a baking stone would achieve.
You can swap out 30% AP for whole wheat ... in fact, I think it would be delicious. The hydration on this dough is already pretty low (making the dough on the stiff side), so you will probably have to up the hydration slightly. Instead of guessing at percentage points, I would add the whole wheat flour, measure the water, and then add additional drizzles of water until the dough felt right. I'm guessing a 3-5% rise in hydration should do the trick.
Let me know how they come out if you make the swap using whole wheat flour, and what your final hydration rate was.
Thanks...
Sounds reasonable to me - I'll stick with a pan.
I definitely plan to swap out some of the AP w/ whole wheat and I'll just up the water by feel as you recommend. I bet a sourdough component would be a tasty addition too.
I'll post the result and final H20 %.